Kenya
Kenya is a nation of
28,337,000 people located on the eastern coast of the continent of
Africa bordering the Indian Ocean between Somalia and Tanzania. Kenya
has a total land area of 582,650 km2 (or almost 227,600
mi2), which is slightly smaller than the states of Arizona
and New Mexico together. 
Kenya's land is only 7% arable, or capable of supporting agriculture, with only 1% devoted to permanent crop production. However, nearly 37% of Kenya's land is used for pasture land. Cattle production remains one of the more important economic products of Kenya. Kenya's climate is highly variable over its territory, from a lush tropical environment in the south near the coast, to arid regions in the north and west, to the glacier-capped peaks of Mount Kenya. Kenya still has one of Africa's more promising agricultural potentials despite recurring drought and famine in the more remote areas of the north.
Kenya was a disputed territory between the various European naval powers who explored the area in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In the 1880's the territorial claims of Britain were established in the region, and in 1895 the United Kingdom established the British East Africa Protectorate. Kenya was declared a colony of Britain in 1920. After years of turmoil and a revolution, independence from Britain was finally gained on December 12, 1963 (which is celebrated as the Kenyan Independence Day). The first independent President of Kenya was Jomo Kenyatta, who ruled from 1964 to his death in 1978. Vice President Daniel Arap Moi succeeded him, and remained in power through the first two multiparty elections in Kenya in 1992 and 1997. In 2002 Moi stepped down after being defeated in another election, in which Mwai KIBAKI, running as the candidate of the multiethnic, united opposition group, the National Rainbow Coalition, assumed the presidency following a campaign centered on an anticorruption platform.
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Map of Kenya from the World Factbook
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There are numerous indigenous languages in Kenya, although two languages are recognized as official, English and Swahili. The ethnic diversity of Kenya is remarkable and the population is made up of Kikuyu (22%), Luhya (14%), Luo (13%), Kalenjin (12%), Kamba (11%), Kisii (6%), and Meru (6%) peoples, with other African groups representing the majority of the remainder.
Tourism is one of Kenya's major industries. Foreigners often come to see the game parks and wildlife of the African savanna. As preservation of the native wildlife is in the interest of the country, much attention of late has been focused on the preservation of endangered species and their habitats.